Short Interest in Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Decreases By 22.1%

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U was the target of a significant decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 383,300 shares, a decline of 22.1% from the October 31st total of 492,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 612,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Mercer International

In other news, Director Rainer Rettig bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.24 per share, for a total transaction of $31,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 42,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,969.12. This represents a 13.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Estrada Juan Carlos Bueno bought 7,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.60 per share, for a total transaction of $51,480.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 67,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at $446,259. The trade was a 13.04 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 41,300 shares of company stock valued at $252,650 over the last 90 days. 4.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Mercer International by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 525,532 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,559,000 after buying an additional 8,957 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Mercer International by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,661 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 6,786 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of Mercer International by 505.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 49,483 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 41,315 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Mercer International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Mercer International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $193,000. 85.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on MERC shares. CIBC decreased their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mercer International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.13.

Mercer International Price Performance

MERC stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $6.17. The stock had a trading volume of 105,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 352,533. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.40. Mercer International has a 52 week low of $5.33 and a 52 week high of $11.20. The company has a current ratio of 3.79, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.59 million, a P/E ratio of -2.19 and a beta of 1.35.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.03. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 9.33% and a negative return on equity of 17.62%. The company had revenue of $502.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.84 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.39) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -1.62 EPS for the current year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.86%. Mercer International's dividend payout ratio is presently -10.60%.

About Mercer International

Mercer International Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) and northern bleached hardwood kraft (NBHK) pulp worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Pulp and Solid Wood. It manufactures, sells, and distributes pulp, electricity, and chemicals through pulp mills.